Adoptive parents

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Adoptive parents are those parents that adopt adopted children.

The reasons why people want to adopt children vary, as well. The inability to biologically reproduce is a common reason, often due to infertility. Some single people and same-sex couples often adopt because of the lack of a partner of the opposite sex or a lack of desire to use a surrogate or sperm donor. In many Western countries, step-parent adoption is the most common form of adoption as people choose to cement a new family following divorce or death of one parent.

Some fertile couples or individuals adopt children. Some may choose to do this instead of creating a new life, in order to avoid contributing to perceived overpopulation, or out of the belief that it is more responsible to care for otherwise parent-less children than to reproduce. Others may do so to avoid passing on inheritable diseases (e.g., Tay-Sachs disease), or out of health concerns relating to pregnancy and childbirth. Still others feel that given the challenges of carrying a baby to term, adoption is the best way to grow a family. Others believe that it is an equally valid form of family building, neither better than nor worse than the biological route.

After adopting, some parents face judgement over the validity of their parenting and may feel pressure to "prove" themselves causing them to increase their parental involvement. A study, evaluating the importance of biological ties for parental investment indicates strengths in adoptive families. The data was part of a detailed survey called the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and other agencies. The study was funded by the National Science Foundation, the Spencer Foundation and the American Educational Research Association. It suggests that parents who've adopted may invest more time in their children than others.

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See also

• Interracial adoption

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